What if…technology transforms the future of Cannes?

To celebrate Landor’s 75th anniversary, we wanted to consider some of the changes that could impact branding in the coming 25 years and beyond. What developments will radically shift our perception of product, brand, and identity? In celebration of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, this month’s theme centers on the future of Cannes.

From the beaches to the parties to the lion-shaped trophies, Cannes has long been the event of the year in advertising, branding, and design circles. With categories as extensive as health and wellness, film, design, and cyber, submissions range from the innovative to the downright fantastical. As technology continues to advance, what will happen to festivals like Cannes?

Over the past few years, the design category has become a smaller and smaller part of Cannes’ entries. What if in the future, design is an assumed part of any entry or an implied criterion for judging, so the category itself disappears? With digital becoming increasingly prevalent, user experience/user interface could also become the next frontier for design, focusing on consumer technologies like robots, drones, or self-driving cars.

As technology advances, perhaps we’ll also see the amalgamation of categories: product design could include industrial design and fashion, with new materials, new purposes, and new inventions leading to cross-channel creations like custom-branded spacesuits. And what of more traditional channels like print, radio, and broadcast? Will those become absorbed by other categories, or will they disappear altogether?

The Cannes event itself could also change drastically with the advent of futuristic technology. Would people still fly to France for the in-person experience, or would it become a digital festival with people presenting through a 3-D virtual monitor or hologramming into a virtual conference space?

Image courtesy of Flickr user Kārlis Dambrāns.

But perhaps things wouldn’t change that much in the future—people will still desire global recognition for their work, they’ll still want to feel inspired, they’ll still want rosé and fancy parties, and most importantly, they’ll still want a small, lion-shaped statue to display proudly on their desk.

How do you think technology could impact the future of awards ceremonies like Cannes? Weigh in on our social channels using #Landor75 to share your thoughts.